PM seeks energy cooperation from Turkey

ISTANBUL: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met various leaders including presidents of Nigeria and Guinea, and Turkish Minister for Energy and National Resources here on Saturday and discussed with them mutual relations and enhanced cooperation in various fields.

The PM met Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on the sidelines of 9th D-8 Summit, hosted by Turkey in the historic city of Istanbul. The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, prospects of enhancing cooperation in diverse areas as well as other matters of mutual interest.

PM Abbasi told the president Pakistan could provide cooperation in sectors including health, infrastructure, education and human resource management. “There is a lot of trade potential between the two countries that can be utilised for the benefit of the people of Pakistan and Nigeria,” added the prime minister.

He emphasised holding Joint Ministerial Commission meetings between Nigeria and Pakistan at the earliest and invited the president to visit Pakistan. The Nigerian president appreciated the high standards of training provided to military officials of Nigeria in Pakistan and expressed the hope to further expand bilateral relations. Also, PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met President of Guinea Alpha Conde and discussed ways and means to further strengthen bilateral relations.

The PM said Pakistan’s vision for Africa was to develop strong, close cooperative relations by enhancing trade, investment and defence cooperation and establishing joint ventures and public-private partnerships. About Pak-Guinea cooperation, PM Abbasi offered Pakistan’s expertise to Guinea in textiles, leather, infrastructure development, information technology as well as to share experience of SMEs with Guinea.

He said Pakistan with its expertise and research facilities in agriculture sector, can help Guinea to utilise its agricultural resources in an efficient manner. The PM said Pakistan has achieved significant successes in eliminating the menace of terrorism with national resolve.

The Guinean president said terrorism was a common enemy and needed to be tackled effectively. He expressed Guinea’s desire to have strong bilateral relations with Pakistan in every field and said Guinea was open for Pakistani investors.

He invited PM Abbasi to visit Guinea at the earliest, which was accepted by the PM, who reciprocated by extending invitation to President Conde to visit Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the prime minister met Turkish Minister for Energy and National Resources Berat Albayrak and discussed various issues pertaining to energy sector and measures to further enhance cooperation between the two countries. The PM said Pakistan had benefited immensely from Turkey’s experience in diversifying its energy sector.